Livonia Spree 2012

After a couple days of laying low with Helaina's stitches, by the time Sunday came, we were ready to P.A.R.T.Y.  Every year that Randy has lived in this house (32 years), his family has celebrated the Livonia Spree and Fireworks.  This year, we decided to make it extra special for the kids.  We invited all of our friends, family, and neighbors.  We had well over 60 people at our house throughout the afternoon and into the evening.  It was a great success!

The inflatable dual lane slip-n-slide with a 9 foot pool at the end.  

Helaina and the Khoury sisters

Squirt guns for all...the kids terrorized the adults!

Trampoline fun with neighbor Brie

More squirt guns

Barbecue was delicious!

 P.J.'s and Fireworks.  This was the first year that Helaina stayed up to watch the fireworks with her friends. The fireworks wouldn't have been complete without a box of popcorn.

Thank you to all our family and friends who helped make our party successful.

Band Aid's and Boo-Boo's

Life is full of twists and turns and ups and downs and plenty of surprises. We were rejuvenated from our vacation and ready to settle into our summer time routine, but the kids had other plans for us.  Tuesday morning, both kids had already eaten breakfast and I was just about to spread the cream cheese on my bagel.  I walked into the entry way, near our front door, to check on the kids and saw Helaina carrying her princess snow globe down the stairs.  My thought was to get the globe from her hands before she could try to hand it Zach.  As I was walking towards her, her foot slipped on the bottom step, the globe fell to the floor, and shattered into a million pieces.  I reached out my arms to lift her from the floor so she didn't step on any of the glass, but when I looked down, blood was already coming from her foot.  I grabbed Zach, took him to his crib, and came back down to tend to Helaina.  When I came back down the stairs and look at her foot, I knew we were in for a rough morning.  The cut was almost a half inch deep and almost 2 inches long. By this time, she was bleeding quite a bit and all she kept saying was, "Mom, put a Band Aid on it. Mom, put a Band Aid on it."  It was 8 am and everyone I knew was at work, including Randy.  So I hurried to change out of my p.j.'s, swept both kids into the car, and to the ER we drove.  Thank God Abla was able to meet us at the hospital to bring Zach home.  She also cleaned up the accident site..thank you, thank you, thank you!  Most of our time in the hospital was great...cartoons, friendly doctors/nurses, and a total of 3 popsicles.  However, the local anesthetic and actual suturing of her foot was not at all pleasant. All in all, she was a trooper.  Besides, who can get 5 stitches in her foot on Tuesday and then hobble around a carnival on Thursday with her friend, Isabella?  Only a 3 year old with resilience and a lot of energy.  Thank goodness the accident wasn't worse, but none the less, it's been a tough week for all of us.   

Isabella and Helaina watching Dora in our bed before the carnival   

On the swings

In the boat

Sharing a lemonade

Body painting

Cotton Candy in the wagon

Merry-Go-Round together

Sooo cute!

2 days after the accident, healing well!

California Dreamin'

After 5 years, 2 kids, and a new business...Randy and I took our first vacation since our honeymoon to Hawaii in 2007.  While planning our trip to San Francisco earlier in the year (for a family wedding), Randy mentioned taking an extra couple days to visit Napa Valley.  Neither of us have ever been to that area, and we thought with the expense/time of traveling out west, why not take the opportunity to see wine country. 

Father's Day, my upcoming 30th birthday, and the need for R & R, were all valid reasons to splurge a bit.  We stayed at The Meritage Resort and Spa, which I would highly recommend to anyone visiting the area.  This was the view from our room at the hotel.  The "Estate Cave" included a tasting room and a spa, and the grapes pan the hillside.     

 

Thursday we took a group tour of 4 smaller, "mom and pop" wineries that included a picnic lunch at one of our stops.  Every winery was lovely, the wine tastings were delicious, and the education of wine making was entertaining.  Thursday evening we took the hotel shuttle service into downtown Napa and spent the evening touring the streets and had a nice dinner a local Italian Restaurant.

Friday was more of a relaxing day as we spent the morning by the pool, in the spa, at the hot tub, and even managed a rejuvenating work-out.  Later in the day, we drove our car through the towns, and choose to tour Randy's winery of choice, Robert Mondavi.  They were having many special events in honor of his 99th birthday this coming Monday.  

Couldn't resist this photo op for our sweet girl...Miss Helaina

Saturday we left the beautiful country side of Napa and drove into the city to celebrate the wedding of Marwan and Shadin.  Marwan was raised in MI, but has been in CA for quite awhile.  It was great to visit with all the family that live in CA and to join in the wedding festivities.

The reception was held in downtown San Fran at the Julia Morgan Ballroom... beautiful location and ambiance.

Lastly, most of the day was spent traveling back to MI, but a very special Happy Father's Day to our dads and to Randy.  We have many blessing in our life, but none are greater than the relationships with our families.  Thank you for all that you do and who you are to us and our children.
Randy, there is no other man that I wish to share my life with.  We are proud of you, we love you, and we thank you for giving of yourself everyday to make us happy and better people!
And another thanks to Aunt Abla and my parents for making it possible for us to take this lovely vacation.  The kids didn't skip a beat while we were away.  Thank you for helping us and taking such good care of our little ones. xoxo

Beach Time

This past weekend was filled with fun that only the summertime can bring.  It was HOT, and we loved it!  On Friday, while Randy was busy at work, we invited our cousins Emann and Rana and Aunt Abla to join us at a nearby water park, Turtle Cove (Lower Huron Metropark).  Around the water, I've come to the realization, that it is impossible  for me to take the kids alone, so the extra hands were a huge help.  We spent a good 5 hours at the park before it was time to head home for dinner.  Helaina spent most of her time with a life jacket on swimming in the deep end.  Of course, she found the slides and lazy river, but she's very proud that she can swim "alone."      Zachary on the other hand, was a wondering man.  He doesn't stay at any one place too long, however, he did enjoy the water slides, just like his sister.  (We'll post some pictures later...they are on our cousins camera.)

I'm slightly embarrassed to admit that I've never been to a beach in our area since I moved here almost 5 years ago.  We usually take the kids to Lake Michigan when we visit my parents in the summer, but I felt like we should venture out from our usual hang-outs.  The kids are older (which makes it a tad easier), and Helaina can miss her afternoon nap if needed.  After a bit of research, we found YET ANOTHER HIDDEN GEM in this city that people so negatively speak of.  Our Metroparks are simply amazing!!! Michigan just doesn't get enough credit for their bountiful natural resources.  So, on Sunday, we spent the day at Kensington Beach and Splash Pad.  It was Zachary's first time in the sand at a beach, and Randy and I have never seen him sit in one spot for so long.  We spent the day with Basel's family, Aunt Abla, and Roscoe.  

Her cousins buried Helaina in the sand

Helaina and Emann

Our beach boy

Grand Prix at Belle Isle

This past weekend, our good friends, the Cobb family, traveled up from Indy to give us a VIP tour of the Grand Prix Race at Belle Isle.  Sadly, Randy and I have never been to Belle Isle since we've been married.  It's located downtown and is an island located in the Detroit River between US and Canada.  Again, another gem hidden in this city that has such a terrible reputation.  The race was cancelled in 2009 due to poor economic conditions, but made another debut this weekend in hopes of continuing it annually.  Even though the race was called early due to poor track condition, we had a weekend to remember!

On Saturday, we took the kids down to the track to get our credentials and experience many of the family friendly activities.  The noise of the cars didn't seem to bother either of the kids.  They were rather well behaved for the several hours that we spent at the track.    

With Travis' sweet hook-up we were able to tour the garage area, both Saturday and Sunday.

Tony Kanaan at the Chevy Stage...handsome guy...looks just like that other handsome man (aka Randy) in my life don't you think!

Saturday evening, with the help of Randy's parents watching the kids, we spent the evening galavanting around downtown Detroit.  Dinner at 24 in the Book Cadillac, a little entertainment at the casino, and an overnight stay at Motor City.  Alone time together is very precious these days, so we enjoyed every second of our weekend adventure!

 Erin and me...look at that precious baby girl bump...24 weeks and counting!
In case you're a race fan, yes, we are standing right next to the pit area.  Such an experience to see everything up close and personal.

We can't thank Erin and Travis enough for all the fun we had this weekend.  And an equally big thank you to Randy's parents for helping with the kids and allowing us to enjoy a nice weekend in our great city of Detroit!

Resemblance

Since he was born, it's been a debate about who Zachary most resembles.  Most say my dad (Grandpa Don), some say Uncle Omar or Uncle Nathan, and others say Randy.  The jury is still out, especially since they change so often, but then we came across this photo.  We were looking through some old pictures and Helaina shouted, "Look mom. It's Zachary."  But it wasn't, it was a picture of me eating my first birthday cake. See for yourself...what do you think?

Zachary at 1 year old

Me at 1 year old